Armed and Clumsy

Among the Americans (all men, as usual) who accidentally shot themselves recently: A 19-year-old man, with an AR-15 assault weapon he'd just stolen; Independence, Ore., March. An angler, shooting salmon; Thurston County, Wash., Oct. An 18-year-old, shot in the “groin” while cleaning his gun; Port St. Lucie, Sept. A 59-year-old multitasker tripped and fell, holding his shotgun, talking on the phone to his girlfriend; St. Matthews, S.C., Sept. A police officer serving an arrest warrant (shot in the buttocks); Mercer Island, Wash., Nov. A 54-year-old at a gun show, mistaken about if his gun was loaded; Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. A 22-year-old, showing off and flummoxed by whether a bullet was still in the chamber; Stamford, Conn., Sept. An 18-year-old man, also flummoxed, suffering the same fate; St. Petersburg, Jan.